Angels on the Moon
by purplepagoda
Summary: What ever happened to Temperance Brennan? No one seemed to be entirely sure. No one knew where she had gone, or where she was. All they knew was that she was gone and without her they were not themselves.
1. Angels on the Moon

Her name was Dr. Temperance Brennan. She had worked at the Jeffersonian Institute. She lived at 314 Elmsworth. Her partner was Seeley Booth. Her best friend was Angela Montenegro. She was dedicated to catching murderers with her partner.

But one day that all changed. Everything abruptly stopped. For the people around her life had suddenly changed. The lights in her office at the Jeffersonian, they were always off, and her door always locked. Her second floor apartment on 314 Elmsworth sat empty, only her things resided there now. Seeley Booth, now worked with Clark Edison. Angela Montenegro had become somewhat withdrawn, and no longer wore her trademark smile. Dr. Temperance Brennan no longer captured any murders. Dr. Temperance Brennan, she was no longer.

In a parking lot adjacent to the Jeffersonian building there was a space that was never vacated. In it sat a silver Mercedes convertible. At 314 Elmsworth there was an apartment that was used for someone's belongings, because no one lived there now.

There were no smiles or giggles surrounding her friends and co-workers anymore. There were no irrelevant tangents when discussing a case. No one from the Jeffersonian visited their beloved diner anymore. No one ate Thai food either. Sweets now evaluated everyone, not just Booth. Things were quiet without her.

Things they were not the same without her. But they didn't discuss her. None of them had been able to figure out what happened. One day nearly a year earlier she had just vanished. She had simply fallen from the face of the planet.

October 25th 2009:

His son was sleeping upstairs in his room. He steps outside. He stares at the moon that shines down on him. He wondered if she was on the other side, looking at him. Maybe she could see the moon and she was wondering about him too. He hoped that she could see the moon. He hoped that she could see, or feel anything. He hoped that she wasn't an Angel on the moon, or... he stops himself. He fights back tears. With his front door open he sits on his porch in the crisp autumn air. Things they weren't the same without her. Nothing was the same without her.

Cam pulls the dishes out of her dishwasher. She places them on a towel on the counter to dry. Through her window, above the sink she sees the moon. The moon stares down at her. She wonders if the it knew something she didn't. If it had seen what happened the night her colleague disappeared. Her house was too quiet. Her life was too quiet without her favorite anthropologist. Since her disappearance she had read all of Temperance's books. She couldn't deny that she was a damn good writer. She didn't know much about Temperance... Dr. Brennan. She kicked herself for not knowing more about her. She hated herself from expecting so much from her.

Sweets sits outside on his balcony. He sits at a table smelling the night air. He stares at the moon. And it stares back at him taunting him for not seeing it. He knew now, he was sure even if her partner hadn't told him.

"Does it taste alright?" a female voice asks him.

"Yeah, I'm just distracted," he admits.

"I think we all are," she smiles understandingly.

He kisses her, and wraps his arms around her. He thinks about what he could have done, and asks himself if there was something he could have done to stop it.

Angela lays in a hammock. She hears footsteps and she looks up. A man sits down next to her. She smiles, and he takes her hand. Together they look at the moon that fills the sky. A light that might renew their faith.

"I wish that you'd give us another try."

"I can't," she tells him.

"Ok," he agrees not wanting to push.

"I want to, but I can't, not until we find her."

"Ok," he seems to understand.

"Jack... I love you. I just can't be happy right now, and I don't..."

"Angie I understand," he promises.

"I know," she admits.

He hears someone stir inside. He looks in and sees his son scurrying back up the stairs.

"You ok buddy?"

"I was just getting a drink," he hollers back down the stairs.

"Ok, but get to bed," he warns.

"I am," a sweet voice answers him.

He sits on his front step realizing that it was his fault. He did this. He was the reason that she was gone. He pushed her into... something she wasn't comfortable with. He made her do something she wasn't ready for. She left him... and then she was gone. It was all his fault. He would feel that guilt until the day he died, he was sure of that. But inside he was dead without her. He was half the man he had been. If it weren't for his son, he would have laid down and died from a broken heart. She had been his everything, even if he hadn't been able to tell her that.

She opens her eyes and her head hurts. She sees something that looks fuzzy. Lights and... something. She sees something that looks like the moon, but it must be wrong. She couldn't be seeing the moon down here. She didn't even know where here was, but she was going to get out. Whatever she was seeing looked a lot like the moon though. She closes her eyes, and sees blackness.


	2. Iris

October 25th 2009 3:17 A.M. George Washington University Hospital:  
Emma Cantwell is eight hours into her twelve hour shift. She's a Registered Nurse. She goes outside to have a smoke. She walks through the E.R. doors. Things had been dead. No one had come through the doors in at least an hour. Four steps out she stops. She sees a woman laying on her side. She moves over to her. She bends down.

"Are you ok?"

There is no response. Emma checks her pulse, it's there. In the dark Emma is unable to assess the woman's injuries. She runs back inside and demands a gurney. A few other nurses follow her out. They carefully move the woman inside.

They move her into a room. Upon being brought into bright lights the woman opens her eyes wide.

"Do you no where you are?" Emma asks first.

There is a slight head shake.

"Can you tell me what today is?"

Another head shake.

"Who did this to you?"

A shrug is all Emma can elicit from the woman.

"Can you tell me who you are?"

The woman stares at Emma blankly as another nurse attempts to stop the bleeding from a gash on her forehead.

"Ma'am who are you?"

This time the woman's eyes meet Emma's she swallows and answers, "I'm nobody," without blinking.

"We're going to get you into a hospital gown ok?"

She just nods once in understanding. Emma uses a pair of scissors to cut the woman's clothing. She's wearing a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt.

"Get me an evidence bag," Emma tells a fellow nurse as she makes a final cut.

Another nurse comes in.

"Do you know who that is?" an older female nurse asks Emma.

"No. She said that she's nobody."

"She's not nobody."

"What do you mean Carol? Do you know her?"

"Not personally."

"Who is she?"

"Temperance Brennan, the author," Carol answers.

As Emma casts her gaze to the woman laying in the bed in her E.R. a voice jolts her into reality.

"Emma?"

"Huh?"

"We've got a problem."

"What?"

The nurse just points.

"Ok, call Dr. Richards. Get him down here stat."

"Emma I'm going to go put in a call to the FBI," Carol tell her.

"Ok," she nods.

8:37 A.M. October 25th 2009  
She wakes up and surveys her surroundings. She couldn't remember much, but she knew where she was. She was in the hospital. Usually, the old Temperance Brennan would have protested, but this woman was relieved to be in the hospital. She turns her glance to the left side of the room. She sees a G-Man sporting a green t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans sitting next to her. He notices her.

"Hi," he says softly.

"Emma."

"What?"

"Emma," Temperance repeats.

"Who? Who is Emma?"

"My nurse," she answers weakly.

"Do you want me to go get her?"

Carol walks into the room.

"Who are you looking for agent Booth?"

"Emma."

"Emma went home over an hour and half ago."

"Oh," Temperance nods.

"I'm just going to check your vitals, and then I'll let you rest," Carol informs her.

"Thank you," Seeley smiles weakly.

Carol leaves. Temperance stares at Seeley.

"Where is your belt buckle?"

"I don't wear them anymore. I just wear a normal belt, and normal socks, and a normal tie."

"Why?"

"It's complicated."

She stares at him hollowly.

"Do you need anything?"

"No," she answers solemnly.

"Are you thirsty?"

"No."

"Hungry?"

"No."

"Do..."

"I don't want anything," she tells him.

"I haven't talked to Angela yet. I thought that you might want some time before I overwhelmed you with people."

"Ok."

"Are you going to talk to me?"

"About what?"

"Nothing, never mind."

"What is today?" she asks him.

"October 25th."

"Oh."

"Do you want to read the newspaper? I've got it right here?"

"No."

"Sweets is getting married."

"Uh huh."

"Can you believe it? Sweets is getting married to Daisy Wick. I have to admit I didn't see them getting married."

She says nothing.

"You look tired why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I... I don't want to."

"Why not? I'll be right here."

"I don't want to wake up there."

"Where?"

"There," she answers.

"Just close your eyes. You're not going anywhere. I won't let you go anywhere."

She just closes her eyes.

Two hours later when she opens her eyes again she finds herself still in the hospital. When she looks at Seeley he sees a look of terror in her eyes.

"You ok?"

"No."

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"It wasn't a dream," she clasps her hands in front of her.

She looks at him in panic.

"Do you need something?"

"The nurse."

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know."

He pushes the call button. Carol comes back into the room.

"How are you feeling Temperance? Is everything ok?"

"I...is..." she starts to breath very heavily.

"Calm down. What's wrong?" Carol asks her calmly.

"Where is the..."

"Upstairs. You don't have anything to worry about," Carol promises.

"Can I go upstairs?" Temperance asks.

"No."

"Bones you have forty-six stitches in your head," Seeley reminds her.

"Dr. Brennan you can't go upstairs. You've got some pretty serious head trauma. But if you give me a few minutes I'll see what I can do."

"But..."

"Everything is fine," Carol assures her as she stands in the doorway.

"Ok," Temperance nods as the nurse leaves the room.

"How does your head feel?"

"It's fine."

"Are you sure? You're acting kind of loopy."

"You can't fight the tears that ain't coming, or the moment of truth in your lies, when everything feels like the movies, yeah you bleed just to know you're alive."

"What?"

"It's in a song. For some reason it keeps playing in my head."

"Oh," he thinks about what she's just said and he understands.


	3. Always be my Baby

"Why were you freaking out?"

"I don't know where it is. Or if it's ok."

"Where what is Bones?"

She says nothing. She stares at her hands. He takes her hand in his.

"Don't," she tells him quietly.

He releases her hand.

"You're safe, here. I won't leave... I won't let you leave. I'm sorry. I know that all of this was my fault."

She doesn't say anything to him.

"I pushed you. I'm sorry. I should have known that you weren't ready. I know, I knew then what your work meant to you. I shouldn't have ever done anything to jeopardize that."

"It's not important."

"What's not?"

"Work."

"But you love your job."

"It's just a job."

"I didn't mean to do anything that could lead anyone to believe that we couldn't be in a work environment together because of... the awkwardness between us."

"Ok."

"Ok? That's it?"

"Uh huh."

They sit in silence until Carol returns. She returns with a companion. Another nurse wheels something into the room. He pushes it to Temperance's bedside. She looks up at him, and he nods. Weak from everything Temperance is unable to do anything. Carol helps her out. Seeley just watches in utter shock.

"Is it..."

"She's perfectly healthy. She's small, but it's to be expected."

_Flashback~3:27 A.M. October 25__th__ 2009_

_As they gently remove Dr. Brennan's clothing Emma sees it. A tiny malnourished frame, bones sticking out. Bruises from head to toe. Emma was twenty five, she had been a nurse for five years. She was the best E.R. nurse in three states. Bruises, scratches, broken bones, blood they didn't bother her. It was the focal point of the malnourished frame that struck a nerve in her. _

"_Get me two units of blood," Emma orders._

"_She hasn't lost that much blood," another nurse points out._

"_But she will," Emma tells her._

"_Ok," the nurse agrees._

_As Dr. Richards comes into the room Emma continues to stare._

"_Emma?"_

"_Yes Dr. Richards?"_

"_Your thoughts?"_

_She stares at the woman's slightly swollen abdomen._

"_I can't tell, she's..."_

"_Malnourished," he answers._

"_She's in active labor. Fully dilated and..."_

Temperance just stares at the bundle in her arms.

"So she's ok?"

"She's perfect. Four pounds seven ounces eighteen inches," Carol informs her.

"If you need us we'll just be a couple of feet away," the other nurse tell her.

"Bones... Temperance," he says softly staring at the infant in her arms.

She looks up at him, "He would never have let me go."

"What?"

"He would have never have let me go."

"So why did he?"

"I don't know. He kept telling me to be quiet, but I couldn't. I couldn't have her there. I could bring her into the world like that... I couldn't bring her into that world."

He stares at her. Tears fall down her face and she makes no attempt to conceal them. "You don't have to cry," he tells her.

"I'm alive," she corrects herself, "We're alive."

He looks at the sleeping baby in her arms. "You're going to be ok," he promises her.

"No I won't," she tells him.

"You're strong, you'll..."

"What happened..." she pauses to draw another couple of breaths before continuing, "what happened to me... it's not something you come back from."

"We'll find him."

"I know."

"Do you want me to take her you look like you're getting tired."

"I..." she begins to protest.

He moves over to her bed. He sits down next to her. He reaches for the baby and she nods. He carefully holds the delicate baby so Temperance can see her. They both watch the baby for a few moments. Seeley sits silently trying to wrap his head around things. He finds questions that he's afraid to ask, afraid to hear the answers to. As he watches the tiny bald baby her eyes flutter open. She stares at him.

"Hi pretty girl," he smiles at her, "You look like your mommy."

"Booth..."

"It's ok. If you don't want to talk about it I understand."

"Booth..."

"Just enjoy her. Does she have a name?"

"Booth..."

"You're going to name her Booth?"

"No. Booth I need to tell you something."

"Whatever it is, it can wait. You need to recover some before you do anything."

"It's important."

"It can't be that important."

"Yes it is."

"How can you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Look at her and be ok knowing what you know?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Is that why you were crying earlier?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was crying earlier because I was glad that she's alive, that I'm alive."

"You weren't crying because you were upset?"

"No. I was crying because I was relieved that she's here and she's ok, and that... that I'm here. I'm glad that you're here too."

"You're glad to be in the hospital?" he jokes.

"It's better than the alternative," she tells him.

"You're right, it is."

"Can I have her back?"

"Yeah," he nods and places the baby back in her arms. "So are you going to keep her?" he asks.

"Of course I am. She's mine. Why would you ask that?"

"I thought that it might be too hard considering..."

"Considering what?"

"Nothing, we can talk about it later."

"Talk about what?"

"Nothing... I just... how can you look at her and not just lose it?"

"I would have given up. I wanted to see her. It's what kept me going. I wanted her to know that I loved her. I know that I said I didn't want kids, but she made it worth it. There were so many days that I just wanted to give up, to give in, but I couldn't. I wanted her to know her father, even if she never knew me..."

"What?" he furrows his brows in utter confusion.

"I knew that you'd find her... even if I no longer existed. I wanted her to know you..."

"Know me?"

"Yes. Why do you look so surprised?"

"I don't think that I understand."

"Understand what?"

"Being pregnant made you keep going even though you knew that you were having your captor's baby?"

"No. Booth... Seeley, she's not his. She's yours, ours."


	4. Leave out all the rest

He just watches them as they both sleep. Temperance lays in a hospital bed looking gaunt, and broken. He had never seen her like that before. She had never been so afraid or so vulnerable. He wasn't entirely sure what she had gone through. All he knew was that one day things were great, and the next she was gone. He had eventually figured out that someone had taken her.

_**9 A.M. Monday February 23**__**rd**__** 2009**__: Seeley walks into the Jeffersonian. He sees people standing on the platform. He swipes his card and joins them. He sees Angela, Hodgins, and Cam. There is no sign of Temperance._

"_Where's Bones?"_

"_What do you mean where's Bones? We thought that she was coming with you," Angela asks in alarm._

"_No. She's not with me."_

"_Was she supposed to be with you? Did you forget to pick her up or something?" Angela questions._

"_No. I wasn't supposed to pick her up. Is that what she told you?"_

"_Seeley none of us have talked to her this morning," Cam points out._

"_She's not answering her phone," Angela adds._

"_Maybe she overslept," Hodgins points out._

"_Dr. Brennan doesn't oversleep," Cam adds._

"_Angela didn't you talk to her last night?" Seeley questions._

"_Why would you think that?"_

"_I just figured that she'd call you when she got home," he answers._

"_Why?"_

"_We had a fight."_

"_I thought that you took her home," Cam contributes_.

"_I was going to. We sort of had a fight," he admits._

_**11:30 P.M. Sunday February 22**__**nd**__** 2009**__: _

_She stares at him with a look of consternation_.

"_What?" he asks her._

"_I'm not so sure that we should have done that."_

"_It was merely an exercise to relieve some tension."_

"_So it didn't have any meaning? I just risked my entire career to relieve some tension?"_

"_No, that wasn't what I meant."_

"_What did you mean?"_

"_I was just trying to appeal to you logically."_

"_I don't think that logic has much to do with this situation."_

"_What do you want me to say?"_

_She huffs and gets out of his bed. She begins gathering her clothes._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_I'm leaving."_

"_You rode with me. I have to take you home."_

"_I don't want you to take me home. I didn't want to be another notch in your bedpost either."_

"_You're being ridiculous. That is not what you are."_

"_I'm leaving."_

"_What are you going to do walk?"_

"_It would be better than staying here with you."_

"_Bones don't leave."_

"_I have a name you know! It would be nice if you used it sometimes."_

"_Please don't go. You're mad. Just let me explain what I meant."_

"_I don't care what you meant. I'm going home."_

"_It's pouring out there, what are you going to do walk?"_

"_I'll get a cab."_

_**10 A.M. Monday February 23**__**rd**__** 2009**__: He uses the key to get into her apartment. Angela follows behind him. They walk in and find it very quiet. Her bag isn't by the door. Angela walks past him._

"_Bren!" she calls out._

_He looks around her apartment. He finds nothing out of the ordinary. Angela rejoins him in the kitchen._

"_She's not in her room."_

"_Maybe she went somewhere."_

"_She would have told someone. I mean I think she would have told someone. What did you do?"_

"_I didn't do anything."_

"_I don't buy it G-man. You obviously did something to make her leave."_

"_I said something stupid, something that would make her mad, but it wouldn't make her leave."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes."_

"_So the alternative would be?"_

"_Angela she never made it home," he tells her._

"_Maybe she..."_

"_She never made it home," he repeats._

"_So?"_

"_Her car is still parked at the Jeffersonian."_

"_Maybe she took a cab."_

"_To where?"_

"_I don't know," she shrugs._

"_She didn't go anywhere. She was mad at me, and she told me she was going home. If she didn't call and tell you anything differently, then she intended to go home."_

"_What do you mean she intended to go home?"_

"_She never made it this far."_

"_What are you saying?"_

"_Someone has her."_

A voice brings him back into reality. "Are you watching me sleep?" she asks.

"Among other things. Can I ask you something?"

"Uh huh."

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No. I've learned that some things aren't so important, and that you have to let them go."

"What I was trying to tell you that night was that you were special to me. That... you are different than other women I've been with. I wanted to tell you that I loved you, that I thought we could be together, but it didn't come out like I had thought it would."

"It doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"I'm not the same person anymore."

"I still..."

"You don't know that."

"So who are you?"

"I'm nobody."

"Bones... Temperance that isn't true. You're somebody."

"Have you talked to Angela?"

"Not yet."

"How long have you been holding her?" She asks changing the subject abruptly.

He looks at the little girl in his arms. "Since before you fell asleep," he admits.

"I don't know when... if I'm going to go back to work. I don't know when I'm going to get out of here. I'm not sure how I'll be after I get out of here. I..."

"I'm here for you no matter what happens or how long it takes to get you back to normal."

"I'm not ever going to get back to normal."

"Ok."

"I don't know if I want to go back to work. I don't know if I want to be your partner if I do... I've got a lot of things to sort out."

"I know. I can wait."

"I don't want you to wait. You should give up on whatever romantic notions you have about us. We're... I'm not the same. I won't be the same."

"I don't care."

"But..."

He changes the subject, "You should give her a name, I mean one other than a pronoun."

"Faith."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to name her Faith."

"Just Faith?"

"What do you mean just Faith?"

"Is that a first name or a middle name?"

"I..."

"Are there any other names that you like?"

"Do you not like the name Faith?"

"I do, but it can't just be Faith."

"Elizabeth Faith."

"I don't think that she looks like an Elizabeth. And that's a pretty big name for such a little baby."

"That's what I want to name her."

"Ok," he agrees.

"Can I have her?"

"Oh, yeah," he nods getting out of his chair. He hands the baby off to his... to Temperance.

She stares at Elizabeth saying nothing.

"Temperance..."

"What Booth?"

"When they let you out of here maybe you should stay with me for a little while."

"Why?"

"So you'll be safe until things get settled."

"Get settled?"

"Until we find him..."

"You won't find him."

"We will. He can't hurt you anymore."

"You won't find him."

"Why do you say that?"

"You didn't find him before what makes you think that you'll find him now?"

"I... so what are you going to do then?"

"About what?"

"Will you move?"

"It doesn't matter if I move or not he can find me if he wants."

"I just want you to be safe. I'd feel better if you were with me. If I could look after you."

"I don't think that is a good idea."

"What about her?"

"What about her Booth?"

"I understand that my role in your life... we'll you're going to have to re-evaluate everything about your life from before. I guess that I just want to know what stake I'm going to have in her life."

"She's your daughter."

"I know..."

"No matter what I've been through, or what I'm going through I'd never do anything to keep her from you. She's as much yours as she is mine. She needs to have you in her life, and you need to be there for her."

"What about you? Do you need me?"

"I just need some time."

"Ok," he agrees.


	5. Won't go home without you

"Hi Dr. Brennan I'm Dr. Carver," a tall blonde woman introduces herself as she walks into Temperance's room.

"Hi," Temperance responds.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok."

"Can you tell me what today is?"

"October 25th 2009."

"Good. Can you tell me who this gentleman sitting next to you is?"

"Booth."

Booth nods.

"And you are?"

"Temperance Brennan," she answers trying to convince herself.

"Good," the doctor scribbles something on her clipboard.

"How long does she have to stay?" Booth asks.

"We want to keep her another night for observation. She should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon, or evening."

"And the baby?" he asks.

"If all goes well, she should be able to go home tomorrow as well."

"Ok, thank you," Booth smiles as the woman turns to leave.

"Have you talked to anyone?"

"I'm here with you who else would I talk to Bones?"

"Have you talked to Cam, or Angela...."

"Oh, no. Not yet."

"Are you going to?"

"Yeah. Do you think that you might want to talk to Sweets?"

"I guess," she answers without an argumentative tone.

"Who do you want me to call first?"

"Angela."

"Ok."

Five minutes after Booth gets off the phone with Angela she arrives at the hospital. Booth and Brennan hear a familiar voice at the nurse's station.

"Ma'am you'll have to come back later visiting hours are over."

"What room is she in?"

"Ma'am... you can come back tomorrow at eight. Visiting hours ended an hour ago."

Seeley leaves the room. He walks over to the nurse's station.

"Karen is there a problem here?"

"This woman insists upon seeing Dr. Brennan and I've told her that visiting hours are over. Patients need their rest..."

"We understand Karen, but this is Dr. Brennan's best friend. She's been missing for nearly a year. I think that you can understand why Miss Montenegro wouldn't want to wait until morning to see her. I think that it would be ok to make an exception this once. Besides Dr. Brennan requested her presence."

"Ok. I guess it's ok... just this once."

"Thank you so much Karen," Booth flashes her a charm smile as he escorts Angela to Temperance's room.

Angela sees Temperance and engulfs her. She hugs her for a very long time.

"Ange...could you let go?" Temperance requests.

"I... you...give me another minute."

"I can't breath," Temperance declares.

Angela steps back. "Sorry, I'm just so glad to see you sweetie."

"I know."

"Wow that is a lot of stitches."

"Yeah," she nods.

Angela sits down on the bed next to Temperance.

The room is filled with a void. A void that no one wants to talk about. So they sit in silence for a while, afraid they might say the wrong thing.

"Did you hear that Sweets is getting married?"

"Yeah Booth told me."

"Oh..."

"How are you?"

"I'm... I'm glad you're here," Angela's trademark smile graces her lips once again for the first time in nearly a year.

"I'm glad to be here."

"So when do you get out of here?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"That's good. It will be nice for you to be home in your own bed."

"You would think,"she answers.

"What do you mean?"

"I... it's just quiet there, that's all."

"Well I'm sure that you won't be alone. You probably won't be able to get rid of us."

"You'll get tired of me after a while. I've never been that interesting."

"Even Cam missed you."

"I find that hard to believe."

"It's true," Angela tells her.

"I know you just got here, and I'm really glad to see you but I am really tired. It's been a long day."

"Ok. Why don't you call me when you get situated at home? I just wanted to see you, and make sure that you don't need anything."

"Thanks Ange."

"Anytime," she smiles contentedly as she leaves.

When she wakes up the following morning he's staring at the tiny baby girl in his arms. She watches as he smiles at the sleeping angel. He wasn't going to make this easy. It was already hard, but his love... she could feel it. It penetrated her deepest layer and lived in her bones. And it broke her heart to know that he felt the way he did. He didn't have to tell her, she already knew. She also knew that she was a different person. She hated being called Dr. Brennan, that wasn't who she was. She had been convinced that she was nobody. She was having a hard time discerning the truth, and the facts from lies. She was waiting for the moment of truth in the lies. None of it made any sense. She didn't know how she felt, or what she wanted.

There were some things that she did know. She was mother now. She had a tiny little girl who needed her. She had a daughter who she never wanted to hurt, or leave. But she knew she didn't have a clue how to be a parent. How could she handle something so tiny, and precious and not screw it up with all of her baggage. Maybe it was better if Booth... no she couldn't walk away even if it would be ok. Even if everyone would understand she wouldn't walk away, no matter how badly she wanted to find a hole and disappear into it. Someone was depending on her. Her daughter needed her. She was so innocent. She was too small to understand that her mother was broken.

He catches her staring at them, "Do you want her?"

"No. She's fine."

"You should take her."

"Why?"

"I've got to run a few errands."

"I... you're..."

"I won't leave you alone. Sweets will be here in a few minutes. He wants to talk to you."

"Ok."

He hands her the beautiful little girl. She holds her close, and tries not to disturb her.

"Does he know?"

"About what?"

"Her."

"Nope."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Why would I tell him?'

"I..."

"You've hit bottom I can't climb back up for you. I'll help you, but you've got to do it."

"I know."

"Are you hungry? You haven't been awake any of the times that they've brought you food."

"Yeah."

"What do you want?"

"Food."

"Anything specific?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes."

"Which would be what?"

"A burger, fries, and a milkshake."

"Anything else?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I'm hungry. I'm really hungry."

"Ok. I'll feed you. Look there is Sweets," Seeley points at the nurse's station.

He heads out the door as Dr. Sweets comes towards the room.


	6. The baby

He comes into the room. He moves over to the bed to give Temperance a hug. He stops short. He looks at her with a peculiar expression.

"Hi Sweets."

"I would give you a hug but I think you've got your hands full."

"Yeah."

"Uh... it..."

"She's... her name is Elizabeth."

"Is she healthy?"

"She's small, but she's otherwise healthy."

"We need to talk. You need to talk."

"I heard that you're getting married."

"I am. I meant about you."

"Ok. What do you want to start with?"

"Let's start with the baby."

"What about her?"

"How do you feel about her?"

"I'm relieved that we're both... that we're both here."

"What is the story?"

"About?"

"The baby? I know that this can all be really hard to talk about, but... you don't have a choice."

"I do have a choice, but the story... there isn't a story... she's Booth's."

"What?"

"The baby belongs to Booth."

"The fight you had was about the baby?"

"No. The fight we had was about... it was about... it was about sex."

"So Elizabeth belongs to Booth?"

"Yes."

"You don't just wish that?"

"No."

"You're positive?"

"Yes Sweets. I'm sure."

"How sure?"

"A hundred percent."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"What?"

"The day you disappeared."

"I left Booth's. It was raining. I was going to hail a cab. I started walking down the block. I had my phone out, I was getting ready to call a cab when someone pulled over. He asked if I needed a ride. I told him no, but he got out of his car. So I started to dial 9-1-1, but before I could call he hit me with something from behind. The next thing I remember I was in a basement somewhere."

"How..."

She cuts him off, "I suppose that it was worse for him."

"Excuse me?"

"For Booth."

"What was?"

"He didn't know if I was dead or alive. I... he was dead to me. I mean as surreal as it felt there was a sense of finality. For him, he could only wonder. He had no way of knowing if I was dead or alive. He didn't know if he'd find me or not. He didn't know where I went. When I thought that he was dead I knew where he went. I knew that even if I didn't believe in God that he did, and if God did exist then Booth was in heaven with him. Booth, he knows that I don't believe in God, so he... he must have tortured himself. Because if I was dead that was it. There would be no chance for him to ever see me again, even if he did catch my killer."

"Do you still not believe in God?"

"I'm alive."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I didn't want him to not know what happened to me. I didn't know where to turn to."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"At first it wasn't so bad, it was bearable. But by the end when I didn't know what was coming next, when I had lost all sense of time, and dignity... I... there was nothing to do but pray."

"So yes?"

"Yeah," she nods.

"If you don't want to talk about your experience right now that's understandable. However, you should know that at some point you have to talk about it. If you don't talk about it you will become a non-functioning member of society, and..."

"I will. I know that I have to talk about it. I know that I can't internalize it all. I know that it's bigger than me and that if I let it, it will consume me. It will consume me and no one will be able to help me. I don't want that."

"No one does."

She sees him observing, staring at her daughter. Her eyes meet his and she asks, "Do you want to hold her?"

"No," he shakes his head, "I don't want to drop her."

She scoots over in bed, "Come over here," she tells him.

He hesitantly vacates the chair next to the bed. He sits down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"You won't drop her," she promises.

"I don't..." he begins. She looks at him. Wordlessly she carefully places the baby in his arms. He stares at the infant in awe.

"She's... really tiny."

"Yeah."

"She's beautiful."

"If ever there was something that would constitute as a miracle it would be her."

"How did you get here?"

"The hospital?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I don't remember."

"Did he leave you here?"

"I don't know."

"Did he let you go?"

"I don't know."

"Have you thought about what happens when you get home?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a child to take care of."

"Uh huh."

"And now you have all of this baggage."

"I know."

"You aren't going to do it alone are you?"

"Do what alone?"

"Everything."

"I have come to realize that sometimes I need to let others help me. I need to take the time to allow others to explain things to me so that I understand their perspective."

"Is someone going to stay with you?"

"I think that I am perfectly capable..."

"You're emotionally, and physically vulnerable you need to have someone stay with you. You are not yourself."

"I know."

"So who is going to stay with you?"

"I don't know. Do you think I should hire a nanny or..."

"Not what I meant. I mean someone who is familiar to you should stay with you. A friend, a co-worker, a family member."

"Russ!"

"What about him?"

"Did anyone tell him or..."

"Booth made sure that they were notified. He told them that it would be best for them to wait until you got home for them to visit."

"He shouldn't make those decisions for me..."

"You shouldn't be making them right now either."

"Do you want me to take her?" she picks up on his anxiety.

"Please. She's..."

"Fragile," she answers.

He nods as he hands Elizabeth back to her. He stares at Temperance. He finds that she's barely recognizable. Her hair is longer, and slightly thinner. She is ghostly pale, and very thin. Her hospital gown barely stays on. Her head has stitches, and she looks... fragile. That was never something had seen in her. She had never looked fragile to him.

Across town Angela sits at her desk. Tapping her pen on her desk repeatedly. She stares at the sketch on her desk. The sketch of someone she knew... someone she was supposed to know. She didn't look like herself. It was supposed to be Dr. Temperance Brennan the brilliant anthropologist, and her best friend, but it a way it wasn't at all. Her sketch barely resembled the Temperance Brennan in her mind's eye. She smells the scent of coffee. She puts her pen down and looks up. She sees a co-worker and a friend standing behind her.


	7. The Resolution

Cam places a cup of coffee on her desk. Angela stands up to face Cam. Suddenly, and without any warning she hugs Cam. Cam hugs her back while eyeing the sketch on her desk. She hears Angela begins to cry.

"It's ok. We found her. She's going to be ok."

"She's not Temperance Brennan."

Cam steps out of the embrace and looks at Angela, "What do you mean?"

"Genetically, maybe it's her, but... the woman I saw in the hospital yesterday, she was... she's not the same Temperance Brennan."

"It'll take time for her to..."

"Cam I don't know what she went through, but I know whatever it was, it's not something that she's coming back from."

"She will eventually."

"No she won't. The woman I saw yesterday...she looked like someone fresh out of a concentration camp. She didn't look like..."

"It doesn't matter. That isn't important. What is important is that she's safe. We have to help her get back to normal, even if for her normal now means something different than it did before."

"I know."

"How long have you been awake?"

"I..."

"You haven't slept in... I know you haven't slept at all."

"I have..."

"You haven't slept more than a couple of hours at a time in eight months."

"I..."

"Napping in your chair at your desk doesn't count."

"Um..."

"You have two options. Drink the coffee, or let me take you home."

"I can't stand the taste of coffee anymore."

"Come on," she motions for the door.

"I can't leave..."

"Why not?"

"If I leave it's real. If I leave this lab the old Temperance Brennan is forever lost."

"Maybe the new one will be better."

"I like the old one just fine."

"Have you actually gone home since this whole ordeal started?"

"I go home to shower, and eat, and rest, but I never fall asleep. I always end up back here before the night is over."

"Then you're overdue."

"I don't think..."

"She's safe. You need some sleep. You need to be there for her, and you can't do that if you can barely function."

"I don't want to go home..."

"You have to go somewhere."

"Hodgins..."

"It's his day off."

"I know, I want to..."

"I'll take you, come on," she insists.

When Seeley returns to the hospital Sweets is sitting in a chair, and Temperance is asleep. Elizabeth is in the nursery, and the room is mostly silent.

"What took you so long?"

"I had things to do."

"Such as?"

"I had a lot to do."

"Ok, well I'm going to get going."

"How long has she been out?"

"An hour and a half."

"Where's Elizabeth?"

"They took her to the nursery about an hour ago."

"I'll see you."

"Yeah."

Sweets leaves and Booth tries to wake Temperance.

"Bones...Brennan."

Her eyes snap open. She looks at him.

"Hungry?"

"Where's the baby?"

"They took her to the nursery."

"Oh."

"Hungry?"

"Starving."

"I know," he mutters under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You were gone a long time."

"I had a lot of errands to run."

"What's in the bag?"

He looks at the plastic bag under his feet. She eats quietly.

"I'll show you when you're done eating."

"Why can't you show me now?"

"I don't want you to get food all over it."

"All over what?"

"Her stuff."

"Who's stuff?"

"The baby's."

"What stuff?"

"You're supposed to take her home today."

"I know."

"She needs stuff."

"Oh right."

"I got her some stuff. It didn't take too long, but I had to wash and dry all of the clothes, and I had to put together two cribs and a basinet."

"Why two cribs?"

"I didn't know if you'd want to go home so I have one at my place an one at yours."

"I want to go home and sleep in my own bed."

"Ok."

"But Sweets pointed out that... well someone should stay with me. For a multitude of reasons."

"Yeah."

"I mean what if I don't hear her or..."

"You'll be fine."

"But you'll stay with me right?"

"Of course I will."

As she eats he empties the contents of the bag. He places a number of things into a diaper bag. He zips the bag and sits it aside as she's finishing her milkshake. He pulls a few final items out of the bag. She watches the whole process silently. He pulls out teeny tiny onesie, and a teen tiny pink outfit with a matching hat. As she finishes her meal a nurse rolls the baby in. Seeley beams as she comes into the room. The nurse stops at the edge of Temperance's bed. He gets to the baby before Temperance can say anything.

"Hi precious. I missed you," he gently cradles her in his arms.

Dr. Carver comes into the room.

"We're going to let you two go. The nurse is going to bring you some release papers."

"Ok," she nods.

Dr. Carver leaves the room.

"I need clothes."

"I brought you some clothes from your place."

She stares at him. He expects a comment, or a lecture about invading her privacy.

"Do you think that I could have my baby now?"

"Yeah," he agrees as his lips curl into a smile. He places the baby in her arms.

They arrive at her apartment at 7:30 that evening. He hands her his spare set of keys. She opens the door. He follows her in with a sleeping baby. She drops the keys on a table by the door. He heads for her bedroom. Halfway there she stops him.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to lay her down if it's ok with you."

"Ok," she agrees.

He lays Elizabeth in a bassinet by Temperance's bed. He finds her right where he left her.

"Are you in there?" he asks waving his hands in front of her face.

"Yeah," she nods.

"Are you sure that you want to stay here?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"Temperance we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"No that isn't what I meant."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Why don't I make you some coffee."

"I don't want any coffee."

"Some tea?"

"Ok," she agrees.

He goes to the kitchen and she takes a seat on the couch. He microwaves a mug full of water. She stares at the coffee table. He turns around and suddenly sees that she's gone. The microwave beeps and he drops a tea bag into the cup. He sits it on the counter and call out.

"Bones where are you?"

She doesn't respond but he hears her voice. He follows the sound of her voice into her room. He finds her standing over the basinet holding the baby. He watches as she pats the baby on the back and tries to quiet her down.

"Do you need help?"

"I think I need a diaper but I don't know where..."

"Hold on," he stops her.

He leaves the room and comes back with a diaper and a box of wipes.

"Do you want me to do it?"

"No. I need to do it."

"Are you sure?"

"I need to be able to take care of her without help."

"Ok," he agrees.

She very carefully lays the baby on her bed. She unfastens her pink outfit, and the onesie underneath. She gently pulls the tab of the soggy diaper. He watches silently as she changes her.

"What do I do?" she asks as she fastens the tabs on the new diaper.

"With what?"

"The diaper is rubbing on her umbilical cord stub."

He gently folds the top to the diaper down. He snaps all four million of the snaps on her clothing. He takes the dirty diaper as Temperance wraps the baby back up in a pink thermal blanket.


	8. I'm not dead

After laying the sleeping baby back in her basinet Temperance returns to the living room. She sits back down on the couch. Seeley sits down across from her, placing a cup of tea in front of her. She allows him to begin as she takes a sip of her tea.

"How does this work?"

"How does what work?"

"How long are you going to take off work?"

"Until I'm ready to go back."

"Right... so how do we do this?"

"Do what?"

"We've got a daughter."

"I know."

"How long are you going to let me stay here?"

"I don't know, until I'm comfortable."

"And when you're comfortable then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"How will this work? I mean you'll go back to work, and go back to living alone."

"I won't be living alone."

"You know what I mean."

"Not really."

"Do we work out a schedule, or do you want to do this through court or what?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Custody how do we work that out?"

"You can see her whenever you want to."

"Are you going to let me take her?"

"Take her where?"

"By myself."

"I don't know. We'll see. I don't know right now. There are a lot of things that I'm unsure of right now. I want you to be in her life, but I... I can't make you any promises right now. I don't know how I feel. When I know how I feel, when things start to get back to normal then I'll let you know."

"And if they don't?"

"What?"

"If things don't get back to normal. I mean even if they do normal is going to be something different isn't it?"

"Probably."

"So..."

"Can we just figure it out as we go?"

"Yeah," he agrees not wanting to push her.

She sits on the couch and quietly drinks her tea.

"Are you going to call Angela and tell her that you made it home?"

"I'll call her in the morning. Right now I just want to take a shower and go to bed."

"Ok."

She leaves the room. She checks on her sleeping daughter, and then begins to collect some clean clothes. She picks out some pajamas, and heads to the shower. She turns on the water and gets in. She scrubs, and scrubs. Eventually she reaches her hair. After nearly forty-five minutes, a bar of soap, and a cup of shampoo later she gets out. She gets dressed and dries her hair. When she's done she stares at herself in the mirror. She finds that she doesn't know the person staring back at her. It looks like her, but not really.

The person in the mirror is thinner, and her hair is longer... and it's sort of scraggly. Her skin is pale, and her stitches begin to itch. Under her eyes are dark heavy circles. She could stand there for days... but then a cry brings her back into reality. She throws her towel on a rack, and leaves the bathroom. She rushes into the bedroom and scoops up a fragile doll of a baby. She sits down on the edge of the bed with the infant in her arms.

"Shh! Please just bear with me. I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm sorry that of all the people on the earth you had to get me as your mother. I'm sorry. Please. Are you hungry or... what am I doing? You're not going to answer me," she stops as her daughter's eyelids flutter open. She re-swaddles the baby and holds her closely. Then suddenly the baby just stops.

Booth comes into the room. He hands Temperance a bottle. She shakes her head and stands up. She places the precious little girl in his arms. She walks past him. She walks through the living room, and onto the balcony. She throws open the door and steps out. She shuts the door behind her. She walks to the rail and stops. She just stares over the edge. Then she looks up toward the stars... beyond the stars.

"God if you're there, if you can hear me... please just let me love her. I don't know how, I don't know what I'm doing. I need your help," she turns around and sits down with her back against the rail. She buries her head in her hands and the tears begin to flow.

A few minutes later she's able to compose herself. She goes back inside and finds Seeley where she left him. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"It's ok. You're here with us now," he tells her softly. He places the baby in her arms.

"What do I do?"

"Burp her."

"Oh," she nods.

After finishing her bottle and being changed Elizabeth falls back to sleep. Temperance crawls into her bed. Seeley stands in her doorway and watches.

"Will you go be ok while I go take a shower?"

"Yeah."

"There are some diapers and wipes laying on your dresser. Everything else is in the guest room."

"Everything else?"

"Some clothes, a few blankets, a crib. I didn't get that much... there wasn't much time, but we should have things covered until you're ready to go to the store yourself."

"Ok."

"Do you want me to sleep on the couch or in the guest bedroom?"

"I don't."

"You don't what?"

"Could you stay in here with me?"

"I could. Do you need me to?"

"I want to be strong, but right now my fear overrides my strength. I'd feel better if you were here. I'd feel safer. And I'd feel better knowing that you can hear her in case I don't."

"Ok," he agrees.

When he gets out of the shower he returns to her room. He finds her in her bed under the covers with her lights off. He quietly goes into the room.

"You don't have to tiptoe, I'm not asleep," she tells him.

He carefully crawls into bed next to her. He's careful to stay on his side. She moves toward him, and he snakes his arm around her, to protect her. He gently kisses her on the forehead. "I'm always here for you," he promises her.

"Thank you," she tells him quietly.

Soon he feels her body relax. He realizes that she's asleep. He lays in bed holding her and just listening. He listens as she breaths, and as Elizabeth snores lightly.


	9. Believe

Seeley wakes up early, and Temperance sleeps soundly. He gets dressed and makes a few phone calls.

"Hello?" a sheepish voice answers him on the fourth ring.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No," she yawns.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"I don't know, what do you need Booth?"

"I'm going to into the Jeffersonian for a while. I want to talk to Cam about the case and I was wondering if you would come sit with Temperance for a while."

"Sit with her? Is she going somewhere?"

"Ange we don't know where this guy is. I'd feel better if someone was with her at all times."

"And you called me? What do you think that I'm going to do?"

"I know that in the past eight months that you've taken self-defense, kick-boxing, and karate classes. I also know that you now own a gun, and have been doing target practice. I know that you have a conceal and carry permit, and from what I've heard you're a pretty good shot."

"How do you know that?"

"I work for the FBI."

"Seriously Booth."

"I've been keeping tabs on everyone."

"I'll be there in fifteen."

"Thanks Ange."

"Uh huh."

Angela sees Booth as he slides out the door past her. She locks the door behind him. She slips off her jacket and throws it on the coat rack by the door. She carefully takes off her boots not wanting to wake Temperance. She wanders out of the living room, and down the hall. She stops at Temperance's bedroom. The door stands open a crack. She pushes it open and tiptoes in. She sees something that she can't make out next to the bed. She then sees that Temperance has her hand on something lumpy that's laying on her chest. She tiptoes around the bed and realizes that there is a basinet sitting next to it. She stops and watches as Temperance's chest rises and falls with a baby laying on it. She wanders around to the other side of the bed. She crawls into the bed and lays down.

"When you wake up I'm sure that you're going to ask me why I'm in your bed, but... I've really missed you. More than you would understand. It's... it was hard not knowing where you were or if you were ok, or even alive."

"I know."

"Are you talking in your sleep?"

"No."

"How long have you been awake?"

"Maybe five minutes."

"Why were you being so quiet?"

"I was just listening to her breath."

"The baby?"

"Yeah the baby."

"You..."

"I wasn't ready to explain at the hospital."

"I can understand that."

"Her name is Elizabeth."

"Is she ok?"

"Uh huh."

"How do you feel about her?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still in shock..."

"About her?"

"About everything. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about her. I don't... it's hard for me to deal with all of these emotions at once. I don't know to separate the good from the bad right now."

"You will."

"I... she's a keeper. Where is Booth?"

"He went to do some legwork."

"Right. She reminds me of him. She's strong."

"So are you."

"She's Booth's."

"You didn't have to tell me. I know."

"He told you?"

"He didn't have to. You wouldn't be here if she wasn't."

"I know that children are blessing, but it's still hard. I mean I would have been ok with this at any other point in my life. I know that things don't always go as we plan. I know that I said I didn't want kids, but I would have been ok. I would have figured it out. With all of this extra stuff I don't know how to figure it out. I don't know how to find my footing. I just want her..."

"Sweetie don't worry so much. All you have to do is love her. All of the other stuff you can learn. You can learn anything."

"What if I can't?"

"Learn?"

"Love her?"

"You already do. If you didn't love her she wouldn't be here."

"I wouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?"

"If it weren't for her... I would have given up. There were so many days when it would have been easier to give up. There were so many times I just wanted to give up."

"I know."

"Angela how do I do this? I don't know how to be a mother. Right now I don't even know who I am."

"You're already a mother."

"What?"

"You were her mother before you had her."

"No I..."

"Don't worry about her. Right now you just have to be here. You just have to stay here with her, and take care of her, and love her. That's all she needs. She just needs you to love her."

"Love only goes so far," she answers with a catch in her throat and tears in her eyes, "Love won't take care of her. I don't know how to take care of her."

"Yes you do."

"I don't. Angela I don't know anything about babies, or raising a child. I don't know what I'm doing."

"It's trial and error."

"I don't want to screw her up."

"You won't."

"I can't know that. Angela I want to be here for here, I just want to be happy. When you have a child you're supposed to be happy, you're supposed to be so enamored that nothing else matters. I wish that I could be. I'm just not though, I mean I love her, but I... there are so many things going on in my head right now that I don't have room to just love her. And I can't get rid of all of them. I don't know how to... I don't know how to get through this. I just want to stay in this room and not come out."

"You can't lead your life in fear."

"I know that, but I can't let this go. I can't compartmentalize this. I just...it's too much."

"Shift your focus."

"What?"

"Don't think about what happened. Push it aside, not permanently, but temporarily. Just focus on her, and her needs. Focus on your daughter, and her father. Maybe this experience, as horrendous as it was, was a tool to make you realize what you want, what at heart you really want, and need."

"You don't believe that do you?"

"I can't not believe it."

"But Ange..."

"Bren there were so many mornings that I didn't want to get out of bed. I wasn't asleep, but I didn't want to face the world. Without things aren't the same. Not being able to say goodbye to you, leaving things undone, I couldn't handle it. What kept me going was hoping that we'd find you, and bring you home. And if we hadn't, if we hadn't brought you home, if things had gone differently I wouldn't have had the will to live."

"Angela we lose people in our lives but we can't just give up on living."

"It was my fault. If I hadn't always been pushing you to be with Booth, to do something, to be someone that you weren't it never would have happened."

"You couldn't have stopped it."

"I could have answered my phone."

"What?"

"I studied your call records. You called me, and I didn't answer. I was asleep and my phone was on silent. If I had picked up, if I had just answered the phone you would have been ok."

"Angela don't do this. It wasn't your fault."

"I wish that I could believe that."

"What did you mean by leaving things undone?"

"You're my best friend and you've always been there for me. I should have told you earlier, from the beginning about Booth."

"What about him?"

"That he liked you, then you would have known and... things would have..."

"You said you wished you didn't say anything at all."

"Yeah, my brain runs in a vicious cycle of sorts."

"I'm sorry that I put you through that."

"Don't be sorry it wasn't your fault."

Temperance changes the subject, "Do you want to hold her?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Angela smiles a genuine smile. Angela stares at the precious infant in her arms. She chokes back tears upon the thoughts of what could have been. Instead of letting the dark terrible thoughts surface she focuses on the positive, "Hi Elizabeth, it's nice to meet you. I think that you're going to be a heartbreaker."


	10. Human

A few days pass and they don't have any luck locating Temperance's captor. Against Seeley's wishes Temperance decides to leave the house. He takes her to see Sweets. With his infant daughter in his arms he waits patiently in the waiting room with Temperance. Sweets calls her in, and Seeley stays put. Temperance crosses the threshold into Dr. Lance Sweet's office. She sits down on his couch as he closes the door behind her. Sweets quietly sits down in his chair and flips through some papers. With a pen in hand Sweets begins.

"How are you doing?"

"Why do people keep asking that?"

"I think..."

"No I mean people know what happened, they know that I was kidnaped."

"Right."

"So why do they ask? Obviously I'm not ok."

"Does that bother you?"

"I don't know should it?"

"You seem very angry."

"Yeah I am."

"Why?"

"I don't like to be the victim. I don't want to be a victim. I'm not weak, but I let someone control me."

"I don't think that you let anything happen."

"Not at first, but eventually I sort of just gave up."

"How?"

"At some point you realize that it's easier to give in than it is to fight."

"And at what point was that?"

"I don't know. Days seemed like years, and months seemed like decades. I'd sleep, and lay there, and... time is an enigma when there is no timepiece of any sort."

"Describe where you were."

"A basement I think. It was cold, and gross."

"Where did you sleep?"

"On a cot."

"What was in the room?"

"A light, a blanket, a pillow. There was a spigot with a tub, a wash cloth, a bar of soap, and a toothbrush. There was toothpaste, and a plastic container."

"What was in the container?"

"The wash cloth, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrush."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Was there a lock?"

"There was a locking mechanism."

"Meaning?"

"There was a keypad. I tried to figure out the code, I saw him punch it in once, but he changed it."

"What was it like?"

"I..."

"I read that when the nurse asked you your name you told her that you were nobody. Is that right?"

"I don't remember, probably."

"Why would you tell her that?"

"Eventually you can be convinced that you're anyone, or noone."

"Meaning?"

"If someone asked you your name what would you say?"

"Lance Sweets."

"Or Lance, or Dr. Sweets?"

"Yeah why?"

"It's wrong."

"What?"

"Every time I told him my name he would tell me I was wrong."

"I don't understand."

"Every time that I would say the wrong thing I would get punished."

"How?"

"Different ways."

"Like?"

_Flashback_

_She's staring at her captor. She sits on her cot hoping that he won't bother her this time. He walks up to her and stands in front of her. She stares at his black sneakers. _

"_Look at me__ཀ" __he demands. _

_She doesn't. He pulls her hair until her eyes look at his face. "When I tell you to do something you will do it. You're mine. I own you."_

_She says nothing. She tries to stay strong but she allows a tear to escape. "Who are you?" he asks her._

"_Dr. Temperance Brennan."_

_He hits her square in the jaw with a pair of brass knuckles she hears her jaw crack. Weak from lack of food and water she can do nothing, nothing except weep, and beg. "Please don't," she asks passively._

"_Who are you?"_

"_I..."_

_He bends down and looks at her eye to eye. He wraps his hands around her windpipe. "Wrong. You're nobody." _

_When she's gasping for air he lets go. She gasps and tries her hardest to regain normal breathing. "Who are you?" he asks her again._

_Still trying to catch her breath she's unable to answer. He pulls out a knife and holds it to her throat. "Are you going to answer me? Who are you?"_

_She can feel the cold steel blade pressed against her jugular. She can feel her pulse angrily race against the sharp edge of the blade. Submissively she answers, "I'm nobody."_

_The blade releases and her body relaxes a micrometer. _

"You are someone. You know that right?"

"I'm not sure what I know anymore," she answers softly.

"You are someone. You're sort of a big deal."

"Yeah that's what I used to think."

"Not anymore?"

"I'm just a woman who allowed a man to control her."

"Did you eat?"

"What?"

"Did he feed you?"

"Sometimes."

"How often?"

"I don't know."

"Did he give you anything to drink?"

"Water. He'd bring me a bottle of water."

"How often?"

"Not enough. I was always thirsty I couldn't..."

"It's ok to talk about this."

"I'm not ok with it."

"That's ok."

"Sweets I... this is I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with this. I don't have the time to deal with this. I have a baby who needs me that I..."

"You have to make time to deal with this. Your daughter needs you, she needs you to be healthy."

"But what if I can't be?"

"You will be."

"How can you be sure?"

"Was there ever anyone else?"

"No. But I don't think I was the only one."

"The only one of his victims?"

"The only one there."

"In that room?"

"In that basement."

"Why do you think that?"

"When the door would open I could hear chains."

"Were you chained?"

"No. He would handcuff me sometimes, but he didn't chain me."

"Do you think that there were other women?"

"Probably. I think that at least one of them was dead."

"Why do you think that?"

"When I first got there something was rotting."

"Like an animal?"

"I don't think so."

"Maybe you could describe him to Angela."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"He wore a bandanna."

"Oh..."

"All I could see was his eyes and forehead."

"Angela is really talented maybe she could..."

"Yeah maybe."

"It's ok if you don't want to though."

"It's not ok. None of this is ok. I don't know what's going on in my own head, my own life."

"That's ok."

"No it's not. Suddenly I'm back here, like things are the way they used to be, but they aren't. I have a child and... I just don't think I can do this."

"So because you think that you can't do it you're going to give up?"

"I don't know. I'd certainly like to."

"But you can't."

"I know, but..."

"What?"

"I have a child, a daughter who needs me, but I just don't know how to be there. It's hard to focus on the good when I can't get the bad out of my head. I don't know what I think, or what I'm supposed to think, or who I am. I didn't want children, but I can't just walk away from her. I love her, I do, but it's hard. I look at her, and all I can think is what might have been. If I was still there would..."

"You will get through this,"he promises her.

"How?"

"You're strong. A lot stronger than you think. And you have the undying love an support of those around you."

"I know."

"This is a lot for one day if you want..."

"I want to feel safe in my own home."

"You have to put it behind you," he tells her.

"I don't know how."


	11. Sweet Dreams

She was always so talented at hiding her emotions, so talented in fact that most people were sure that she had very few, but that was so untrue. She felt everything. From the day she was born she could feel not only her own pain, but the pain of everyone else around her. It was her burden. A burden she hated to bear, but could never be free of. And now all she wanted to do was get away, leave her thoughts, and all of her emotions behind her. To just start over, but she couldn't. She would never leave the people who needed her so much, the people she needed. She would never walk away from her innocent little girl.

But there were moments when it all seemed to be too much. Moments when she wanted to give up, and recede into a black-hole of nothingness. To disappear of the face of the planet, and to have never existed.

The rain taps on her window. The thunder comes nearer. The clock ticks, and the baby snores. Her eyes close, but sleep it rarely comes, and when it does she's back to that place, she's back to hell. She quietly slips out of the room, and into the kitchen. She makes a cup of chamomile tea. As she sits on her couch she thinks about her life, and then all of a sudden that voice is in the back of her head, his voice. She tries to block it out, but it doesn't go away.

He finds her sitting on the couch with her knees hugged to her chest, rocking ever so slightly. He says nothing to her. He pulls his phone out of his pocket. He presses #2 on speed dial. A sleepy voice comes on the other end after one ring.

"What's wrong?" she asks frantically.

"Nothing. You don't have to worry."

"Then why are you calling me? It's two in the morning."

"I need you to come over here."

"Why?"

"I need you to take care of the baby."

"Booth why? What's wrong?"

"Temperance needs my undivided attention."

"I'll be there in... I'll be right over," she tells him.

Angela arrives fifteen minutes later wearing her pajamas. She enters the apartment and finds Temperance on the couch. She looks but doesn't touch. Seeley joins her, speaking softly.

"I put her in the guest bedroom. She's asleep. I just fed her so you've got another two hours. The bed is all made for you."

"Ok," she nods and leaves.

He walks over to the couch and carefully scoops Temperance up. He carries her to her room, and shuts the door behind them. He crawls into the bed next to her and pulls some covers over them. He holds her tightly. He rubs her head and talks to her softly, "Bones I'm right here. You're safe. Close your eyes and sleep. Everyone is ok. You'll get through this, I promise you. I'll be here every step of the way. I won't let anything happen to you...not again. I won't lose you again. I love you. Please Temperance just sleep. Just sleep," he begs her.

Her eyelids droop. They feel as heavy as lead curtains. His voice hypnotizes her. She rolls over and buries her head in his chest. She smells him and begins to feel safe.

Finally she finds sleep. And this time she isn't back to that hell she's somewhere else, somewhere safe.

_She stands on the edge of the playground in a park. She looks for her daughter. And Booth comes up behind her. _

"_Hi," he smiles at her._

"_Hi," she smiles back._

_He kisses her and she kisses him back. A tiny voice brings them back to reality. _

"_Eww that's gross," a little girl informs them._

_They turn to her and smile. She hold's Booth's hand. The three year old stops in front of Booth. "Daddy pick me up__ཀ" __she begs._

_He sighs, and then bends down to pick her up. "Are you ready to go?" he asks his daughter, their daughter._

"_Yes," she nods._

_Booth takes two steps and then turns to Temperance, "Babe are you coming?"_

"_In a minute," she answers._

"_Ok," he agrees and continues toward the car. _

_She watches them as they walks away. Her hand moves to her swollen stomach, and her engagement ring, and wedding band shine in the sun light. She takes deep breath and starts after them._

When she wakes up she's in her bed and her head is lying against his chest. She opens

her eyes and the sun stings them. She looks up at him.

"Did you sleep well?" he asks.

"Yes," she answers, "What time is it?"

"Ten after ten."

"Wow."

"You didn't make any noise in your sleep either, aside from the snoring."

"Yeah."

"So you had pleasant dreams then?"

"Very," she answers.

"Do you want some breakfast?"

"I just want my baby," she answers.

"I'll go get her," he promises.

He places the baby on her chest. Temperance breathes in the fresh baby scent. Booth watches her quietly.

"She's perfect," he comments.

"Shh!" Temperance warns.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," she nods.

"Ok."

"Have you talked to Parker today?"

"Not yet, why?"

"He should come over," she comments.

"Are you sure about that? He'll ask a million questions."

"It's ok."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, he should meet her."

"You're ok with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've just been kind of funny about her."

"I'm perfectly fine with it as long as he washes his hands."

"I'll call him as soon as he's done with school."

"Good."

"You must have had a really good dream."

"It was perfect," she admits.


End file.
